Slingshot: Back to Dennis the Menace days

[alameinite]

Dear Sir
Where do your catty ammo from,these steel balls, as I now want to graduate to steel from marbels.

[Mack The Knife]

Alameinite,

No need for the 'sir' bit. Just call me GOD (Grumpy Old Dragon).

As for the steel balls you can get them from the automobile spare parts market or visit a gujri. In the latter case, you will have to sort them out by size using a vernier caliper. Steel balls, especially the larger calibre ones, aren't cheap. E.g. 1/2" (12.70 mm) dia. steel balls cost me Rs.300.00 per 100, whilst 10 mm costs me Rs.130.00 per 100. 5mm is Rs.450.00 per 1000 (thousand).

The best ammo would be lead balls if you are willing to cast them. Please take all precautions when doing so.

[Commonwealth_of_PA]

We have a state in the US where slingshots are actually illegal. It's called New Jersey.

[Mack The Knife]

http://www.slingshotnj.com/

[Mack The Knife]

How to shoot slingshots/cattys:

http://www.pocketpredator.com/four.html

http://simple-shot.com/shooting-tutorials/

Be safe and have fun.

[essdee1972]

Thanks, Mack! I have a nondescript slingshot I got from oliveplanet.com, but the better half didn't take very kindly to me and Junior getting rid of vases and suchlike junk around the house Good thing about that catty is that it has a wrist brace.

[Mack The Knife]

EssDee, make yourself a catch box and use your catty at home.

I wouldn't shoot at glass or china either but there is other stuff like tin cans, etc.

[Mack The Knife]

Lighting a match from 100 feet (33.33 yards) away.


Shooting a coke can from 400 feet (133.33 yards) away.


Can't have a thread on cattys and not post at least one video of Rufus Hussey.

[essdee1972]

I wouldn't shoot at glass or china either but there is other stuff like tin cans, etc.

We did have tin cans, but those were the initial days........

[dev]

Haah the cheek when I went crazy on catty's you were making us drool with your mauser 30. Now when we start appreciating mauser 30's you show catty's off. I regret giving the two I had found at a Chinese store at Noida to my nephews. Shall get me one soon. Love the target box. What is the wood being used as a the frame?


Regards,

Dev

[Mack The Knife]

Essdee, you are only limited by your imagination and that's a commodity you are not short off. However, avoid glass as some shards always escape being binned and end up hurting someone.

Dev, I cannot recall a single thread on cattys on this forum. Anyway, don't buy one. I have been meaning to send you a 'return gift' for the jerky and tea you sent me. M's daughters finished off the former before we guys could but I have just taken a nice long noisy sip of your Assam Tea. Indian ishstyle. P.S.: Only discuss cattys with Abhijeet if you want to needle him.

Added in 1 minute 32 seconds:
The target box is made of commercial ply. No solid wood used. Mai garib aadmi hoo sarkar!

[essdee1972]

Mai garib aadmi hoo sarkar!

Ooparwala aapke jaisa gareebi sabko de!!

And by the way, we didn't shoot at those vases and other curios. Since they were initial days with the Cat, my estimates of the power and trajectory, vis-a-vis an AR, were waaayyy off, and I not only neglected to set up a decent backstop, but also shot too close to the target, hence a couple of ricochets and total misses caused domestic mayhem.

Last night I let the Cat out of the bag again and set up a proper target, under the beady eye of the better half. Unfortunately, there was a small tear in the elastic, and hence today I am visiting a surgical supplies store for tubing. The tubing is the same type used to give IV drips, right?

By the way, thanks once again for sharing those sites, Mack! I doubt I would have inspected the Cat so closely otherwise.

[diskaon]

I am a big fan of the slingshot channel

plan to hand craft something someday someplace, sometime....

https://www.youtube.com/user/JoergSprave

[Mack The Knife]

Ooparwala aapke jaisa gareebi sabko de!!

Aur milli to rona mut. Kahaa catty ka daam aur kahaa lukdi ka, sirji!

The best backstop is one that gives way and soaks up the energy to drop the projectile down. So, an old blanket, towel, old clothes, carpet, etc. slung across any horizontal (pole, curtain rod, clothes line, etc.) will do the job. A box is secondary.

Your best bet is to take a cross section of the cut tube to the store. They should also have a supply of tourniquet bands which you may want to try. Let me know if you want to try Thera Band Gold bands.

Some gyaan:

For best efficency, follow the 5:1 rule. That is, if your draw length is 30", then the unstretched band should be 6" long. Add extra for tying to the pouch and fork.

4:1 is also effective and will last a little longer than bands cut using the 5:1 ratio.

Assuming band area to be the same, a tapered band is easier to pull than a straight cut band but has a shorter lifespan.

Tubes generally last longer than bands but are not as fast.

The smaller and lighter the pouch, the faster the band will retract and consequently the projectile velocity will be greater.

As far as possible, keep your tubes and bands away from sunlight.

Some more gyaan at http://www.pocketpredator.com/FAQ.html and http://simple-shot.com/bandset-users-guide/ and http://simple-shot.com/do-it-yourself-tutorials/

Added in 5 minutes :

I am a big fan of the slingshot channel
plan to hand craft something someday someplace, sometime....
https://www.youtube.com/user/JoergSprave

Joerg's cattys are fantastic and many are downright hilarious. Have you seen the one that hurls a football and the one he made for hurling shotputts?

He also has a forum in case you were unaware.

If you can't spare the time, start with a simple Y-fork. I'll give you the band and pouch.

[xl_target]

I stick to my point.... Mack the Knife should be changed to Mack the Everything Under the Sun!

Mack, that arrow shooting attachment looks DIY. If so, can you enlighten us as to how to make it?

Our Mack is certainly a man of parts!